 "Makar Sankranti 2024: History, Significance and other facts about festival")
Makar Sankranti is an auspicious Hindu festival observed all over India on January 14, 2024. This season is the beginning of the harvesting season in the country, and a time to bid farewell to the chilly winters.
This is also known as the harvest festival. The days hereon become longer, and the Sun moves northward, and this is the reason it is called Uttarayan, which is considered very auspicious. Makar Sankranti is celebrated on the lunar calendar, and it falls almost on the same day every year.
Makar Sankanti 2024: History
The festival holds religious and seasonal importance. In the ancient period, people used to celebrate the movement of the Sun, which resulted in longer days and marked the seasonal changes from harsher to milder climates. The festival is a sign of positivity and hope.
The harvest festival is a time of joy, celebration, and abundance in the farming communities reaping the fruits on the hard land.
In some parts of India, it is believed that there was a deity called Sankranti who killed a Sankarasur. After that day, the deity killed another demon known as Kinkarasur, which is why the day is also known as Kinkrant.
Makar Sankranti: Significance
Makar Sankranti is the day from when the Sun begins. The period from Karka Sankranti to Makar Sankranti is known as Dakshinayan. As per the scriptures, Sakshinayan symbolises the night of God or the sign of negativity, whereas the Uttarayan is the symbol of God or a sign of positivity. During Makar Sankranti, the Sun starts its journey towards the north, so people in the Ganga, Krishna, Godavari, and Yamuna Rivers are at holy places and chant mantras.
Makar Sankranti 2024: Important facts
Makar Sankranti involves specific practices and activities, such as flying kites and making food items, which include sesame seeds and jaggery as the prime ingredients. As per Hindu Hindu mythology, God Yama blessed the sesame seed to regard the symbol of immortality.
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During Makar Sankranti, people express their gratitude by worshipping the Sun god in different forms. Any meritorious deeds or donations become fruitful.
Using jaggery marks the crucial ingredients in the traditional Makar Sankranti recipes, offering warmth and sweetness together.
People also fly kites symbolising that now people can spend more time outdoors.
The celebration involves worshipping the cattle, as the cows and oxen are a boon to a farmer.